2012 big in the industry

The era of higher airfares remained as airlines showed continued discipline when putting seats in the sky. Hotels and rental cars continued to be the best sources of bargains. Superstorm Sandy took a bite out of travel, but the airlines responded with impressive communication and flexibility for their customers.

Business travel continued its rebound since the depths of the recession, particularly to emerging markets such as Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia. Ancillary airline fees, predictably, proved not to be a fad. (That means you can expect more in 2013.) Full-body scanners became the norm at airports and with relatively little fuss from travelers, even if some scientists called for greater independent research on their potential effects.

That's my 2012 in a nutshell. For an additional look back, I checked in with two industry observers whose answers were edited for space. In the next Travel Mechanic, we'll look ahead to 2013.

Chris McGinnis, Director of Travel Skills Group (travelskills.com)

Q: How will 2012 be remembered in the travel industry?

A: The first year since 2008 when the travel industry can safely say business travel has come back.

Q: What were the positive developments in 2012 for travelers?

A: Based on what President Barack Obama accomplished for travelers in the previous four years (like PreCheck, funds for high-speed rail, passage of the three-hour rule for tarmac delays, higher compensation levels for bumps and scrutiny of ancillary fees), I think his re-election means more consumer protections and fewer headaches for travelers in coming years.

Q: What were the negative developments?

A: In-flight Wi-Fi has become popular among business travelers, so popular that it's increasingly difficult to maintain a signal as good on cross-country flights as it was in the past. Gogo (a leading provider) says it is working on fixes and fatter pipes to planes, but that remains to be seen.

Q: Is the industry moving in a more or less consumer-friendly direction versus a year ago?

A: More friendly, again, based largely on the advances made by the Obama administration.

A: It was another great year for airline safety, including the rollout of NextGen air traffic control improvements and more tech innovations, such as self check-in at airports.

Q: What were the negative developments?

A: Again, the year of the fees. Also, the loss of some great destinations due to local political and economic problems: Greece, Egypt, Israel and parts of Mexico. And after many years of steady real-dollar airfare decreases, airfares started to go up again.

Q: Who or what was the 2012 Travel MVP?

A: The government "watchdogs." The Department of Transportation finalized rules that require airlines to post all-up fare information, with no carve-out of phony fees. Airlines are complying. The Federal Trade Commission initiated action against hotels for phony carve-outs of mandatory "resort" and similar phony fees from the true prices.

The Travel Mechanic is dedicated to better, smarter, more fulfilling travel. Thoughts, comments and suggestions can be sent to jbnoel@tribune.com. Include "Travel Mechanic" in the subject line. Follow him on Twitter at @traveljosh.